Architecture Initiatives

There is so much incredible progress lately in the codebase and a tremendous amount of fun stuff yet to do, that I thought it would be helpful to outline for everyone some overall architecture thoughts of my own that help guide my excitement and interest :)

Data Storage

Include tools for the codebase manage data storage internal to itself and expose utilities for the owners to control and add storage endpoints:

  • visible to owner (where is my stuff stored)
  • ability to connect storage endpoints:
    • dropbox
    • s3
    • wordpress
    • personal desktop/laptop
    • google/icloud/amazon?
  • have the locker incrementally back itself up to the connected storage
  • let apps have the ability to direct raw copies of things (like photos) to any storage endpoint

TeleHash

This work has been ongoing for a while and is now finally going to start surfacing some basic functionality, a new lightweight node implementation is in progress with the intention of being integrated into the locker core for uses described below.

Identity & Sharing

Have the locker core manage and be aware of the profile data of every connected identity/service, and then enable the signing of those identifiers so that they can be shared via TeleHash in a verifiable way.  Enable apps to request connection/sharing methods with anyone that will have a level of verification/trust based on this, with direct encrypted verified peer-to-peer sharing being possible.

  • improve the contacts collection with edit-ability features
  • build basic permissions system for sharing things in your locker with others
  • experiment with caja/capabilities-based access logic (share bits of code)
  • include safe/simple experiences explaining what is being shared, how secure, and to who
  • strong access logging of anything shared

Routing Mesh – Core as a personal VPN

The core ideally goes away entirely, leaving each component of the locker to attach to a shared mesh that knows how to send/receive with each other.  This enables the locker to be essentially a personal VPN with all the components that talk P2P using REST+JSON, across all of your personal devices and any hosted pieces.  This builds on TeleHash, key management, pairing, network path detection, and building out supporting software for all the desktop/mobile platforms, a lot!

You can find (and contribute to) even more in the original raw brain dump style document on google docs. Looking forward to an incredible 2012!